Terms and conditions

Terms of Service

Last Updated: 14 March 2026

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using PDF Ghost ("the Service"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). If you disagree with any part of these terms, you may not access the Service.

2. Description of Service

PDF Ghost is a web-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform that provides PDF document fingerprinting and leak detection services. The Service enables users to upload PDF documents, generate uniquely fingerprinted copies for recipients, and identify the source of document leaks.

3. Account Registration

3.1 Account Requirements

  • You must provide accurate, current, and complete information during registration
  • You must maintain and update your account information
  • You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials
  • You are responsible for all activities that occur under your account

3.2 Organization Accounts

  • Organizations may be created and managed by authorized users
  • Organization administrators are responsible for user management within their organization
  • Each organization is subject to plan limits and restrictions based on their subscription tier

3.3 Account Termination

  • We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms
  • You may cancel your account at any time through your account settings
  • Upon termination, your access to the Service will cease immediately
  • Upon termination, your data will be deleted in accordance with the applicable retention periods described in Section 7.3. We recommend exporting any data you wish to keep before terminating your account
  • Any remaining purchased token balance at the time of termination is non-refundable, except where applicable consumer protection law provides otherwise

4. Subscription Plans and Billing

4.1 Subscription Tiers

The Service offers multiple subscription plans with varying features, limits, and pricing:

  • Free Plan: Limited tokens and features
  • Starter Plan: Basic features for individual users
  • Pro Plan: Enhanced features for professional use
  • Team Plan: Collaboration features for teams
  • Enterprise Plan: Custom features and limits

4.2 Token-Based System

  • The Service operates on a token-based billing system
  • Tokens are allocated monthly based on your subscription plan
  • Tokens are consumed when processing PDF documents based on file size and recipient count
  • Unused tokens do not roll over to the next billing cycle
  • Token balances reset to your monthly allocation at the start of each billing cycle

4.3 Billing and Payment

  • Subscription fees are billed in advance on a recurring monthly basis and automatically renew at the end of each billing cycle
  • Payments are processed through Polar, which acts as Merchant of Record for all transactions, handling invoicing, VAT, and payment processing
  • All fees are non-refundable unless required by law, subject to our refund policy (Section 4.5), or covered by your right of withdrawal (Section 4.7)
  • You authorize the payment provider to charge your payment method for all fees due under your subscription
  • You may cancel your subscription at any time through your account settings or via the Polar customer portal. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period
  • Failure to pay may result in suspension or termination of your account

4.4 Plan Changes

  • You may upgrade or downgrade your plan at any time
  • Upgrades take effect immediately with prorated billing
  • Downgrades take effect at the start of your next billing cycle
  • Plan changes may affect your token allocation and feature access

4.5 Refunds

  • Subscription fees are generally non-refundable
  • Refunds may be considered on a case-by-case basis for technical issues or service unavailability
  • Refund requests must be submitted within 30 days of the charge

4.6 Purchased Token Packs

  • Token packs are one-time purchasable bundles of additional tokens available exclusively to active subscribers
  • An active paid subscription is required at the time of purchase
  • Purchased tokens are credited to a separate balance and do not expire or reset on billing cycles
  • When tokens are consumed, subscription tokens are used first; purchased tokens are only deducted after the subscription balance is exhausted
  • Token pack purchases are non-refundable once any purchased tokens have been consumed
  • Token packs are processed through the same payment provider used for subscriptions

4.7 Right of Withdrawal

  • If you are a consumer in the European Union or European Economic Area, you have the right to withdraw from a purchase within 14 days without giving any reason, as described in our Right of Withdrawal page
  • For digital services, if you expressly consent during checkout to immediate provision of the service and acknowledge the loss of your withdrawal right, the right of withdrawal may no longer apply once the service has been fully provided
  • For full details including the model withdrawal form, please see our Right of Withdrawal page

5. Acceptable Use

5.1 Permitted Use

You may use the Service only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms. You agree not to:

  • Upload, process, or distribute illegal, harmful, or offensive content
  • Violate any applicable laws or regulations
  • Infringe upon intellectual property rights of others
  • Attempt to reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the Service
  • Access or attempt to access accounts or systems you are not authorized to use
  • Interfere with or disrupt the Service or servers hosting the Service
  • Use automated systems to access the Service without authorization
  • Upload malicious code, viruses, or other harmful software

5.2 Content Restrictions

  • You are solely responsible for all content you upload and process through the Service
  • You warrant that you have the right to process and distribute all uploaded documents
  • You must not upload content that violates third-party rights or applicable laws
  • We reserve the right to remove or refuse to process any content that violates these Terms

5.3 Prohibited Activities

  • Using the Service to harass, threaten, or harm others
  • Using the Service for spam or unsolicited communications
  • Attempting to bypass security measures or access restrictions
  • Sharing account credentials with unauthorized users
  • Using the Service in a manner that could damage, disable, or impair the Service

5.4 Fingerprinting-Specific Obligations

  • You must have a lawful basis for fingerprinting and distributing documents, including compliance with all applicable data protection laws
  • You must not use the Service to track, monitor, or surveil individuals in violation of applicable law, including but not limited to anti-stalking, workplace surveillance, and data protection regulations
  • You are responsible for informing document recipients about the use of fingerprinting technology where required by applicable law in your jurisdiction
  • You acknowledge that fingerprinting technology creates traceable copies and you accept full responsibility for how you use this capability

6. Intellectual Property

6.1 Service Ownership

  • The Service, including all software, designs, and content, is owned by PDF Ghost or its licensors
  • All rights, title, and interest in the Service remain with PDF Ghost
  • These Terms do not grant you any ownership rights in the Service

6.2 Your Content

  • You retain all ownership rights to documents and content you upload
  • By using the Service, you grant PDF Ghost a limited, temporary license to process, store, and transmit your content solely to provide the Service
  • This license terminates when you delete your content or when your account is terminated, subject to the applicable retention periods
  • PDF Ghost does not access, review, or use your document content for any purpose other than providing the Service

6.3 Feedback

  • Any feedback, suggestions, or ideas you provide about the Service may be used by PDF Ghost without compensation or attribution
  • You grant PDF Ghost a perpetual, irrevocable license to use such feedback

7. Privacy and Data Protection

7.1 Data Handling

  • Your use of the Service is subject to our Privacy Policy
  • We process personal data in accordance with applicable data protection laws, including GDPR
  • We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your data
  • Basic cookieless telemetry is always on; your cookie-consent preferences govern cookies and any sensitive or enriched analytics processing, as described in our Cookie Policy

7.2 Document Processing

  • Documents uploaded to the Service are processed to generate fingerprinted copies
  • Source PDF documents are deleted after fingerprinting processing completes
  • Fingerprinted artifacts are stored securely and retained for leak detection purposes according to the retention periods in Section 7.3
  • You are responsible for ensuring you have the right to process and fingerprint documents
  • For organizational customers processing documents containing personal data, a Data Processing Agreement is available as described in our DPA

7.3 Data Retention

  • Source PDF documents are deleted automatically after fingerprinting processing completes
  • Fingerprinted artifacts are retained based on your subscription plan:
    • Free: 7 days
    • Starter: 30 days
    • Pro: 90 days
    • Team: 180 days
    • Enterprise: 365 days
  • Draft jobs are automatically deleted after the plan-specific draft retention period (Free: 3 days, Starter: 7 days, Pro: 14 days, Team/Enterprise: 30 days)
  • Account data is retained while your account is active and for 30 days following termination
  • You may request deletion of your data in accordance with our Privacy Policy

8. Service Availability and Modifications

8.1 Service Availability

  • We strive to maintain high availability but do not guarantee uninterrupted access
  • The Service may be unavailable due to maintenance, updates, or unforeseen circumstances
  • We are not liable for any losses resulting from Service unavailability

8.2 Service Modifications

  • We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Service at any time
  • We will provide reasonable notice of significant changes when possible
  • Continued use of the Service after modifications constitutes acceptance of non-material changes

8.3 Feature Changes

  • Features and limits may change over time
  • We may add, remove, or modify features with or without notice
  • Plan features and limits are subject to change, but we will provide notice of material changes

9. Limitations of Liability

9.1 Disclaimer of Warranties

  • THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW
  • WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW
  • WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE

9.2 Limitation of Liability

  • TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, PDF GHOST SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES
  • OUR TOTAL LIABILITY SHALL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US IN THE TWELVE MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM
  • WE ARE NOT LIABLE FOR ANY LOSSES RESULTING FROM:
    • UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR USE OF YOUR ACCOUNT
    • INTERRUPTION OR CESSATION OF THE SERVICE
    • ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN THE SERVICE
    • LOSS OF DATA OR DOCUMENTS

9.3 Mandatory Exceptions

  • Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability for willful misconduct (Vorsatz) or gross negligence (grobe Fahrlässigkeit)
  • Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence
  • Nothing in these Terms affects your statutory rights as a consumer under applicable law, including the Austrian Konsumentenschutzgesetz (KSchG)
  • In jurisdictions that do not allow certain limitations of liability, our liability is limited to the maximum extent permitted by law

10. Indemnification

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, you agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless PDF Ghost from and against any claims, damages, obligations, losses, liabilities, costs, or expenses (including attorney's fees) arising from:

  • Your use of the Service
  • Your violation of these Terms
  • Your violation of any third-party rights
  • Content you upload or process through the Service

11. Dispute Resolution

11.1 Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Austria, without regard to its conflict of law provisions. For consumer contracts, mandatory consumer protection laws of your country of residence apply in accordance with Article 6(2) of the Rome I Regulation.

11.2 Online Dispute Resolution

The European Commission provides an Online Dispute Resolution platform at: https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr. We are not obliged to participate in, and do not participate in, dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board.

11.3 Jurisdiction

  • Either party may seek injunctive relief in any court of competent jurisdiction
  • Claims may be brought in small claims court if applicable
  • For consumers, the courts of your place of residence shall also have jurisdiction

12. General Provisions

12.1 Entire Agreement

These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and PDF Ghost regarding the Service and supersede all prior agreements.

12.2 Modifications

We may modify these Terms from time to time. For material changes, we will notify you by email at least 30 days before the changes take effect and provide you with the right to terminate the Service before the new terms apply. For non-material changes, we will post updated terms on our website. If you do not agree with the revised Terms, you may terminate the Service before the effective date of the changes.

12.3 Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall remain in full effect.

12.4 Waiver

Failure to enforce any provision of these Terms does not constitute a waiver of that provision.

12.5 Assignment

You may not assign or transfer these Terms or your account without our prior written consent. We may assign these Terms without restriction.

12.6 Contact Information

For questions about these Terms, please contact us at:

13. Miscellaneous

13.1 Force Majeure

We are not liable for any failure to perform our obligations due to circumstances beyond our reasonable control, including natural disasters, war, terrorism, labor disputes, or internet failures.

13.2 Export Compliance

You agree to comply with all applicable export control laws and regulations regarding the Service and any content processed through it.

13.3 Age Restrictions

The Service is intended for users who are at least 18 years old or the age of majority in their jurisdiction. Users under this age must have parental consent to use the Service.

By using PDF Ghost, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms of Service.